Thursday, June 9, 2011

Two men who worked for an organization that transported illegal aliens throughout the country are facing federal charges after they were allegedly caught smuggling 10 Guatemalans while traveling on Interstate 70 in Clark County.

Moises Martinez-Garcia and Juan Varillas-Santiago, both of Mexico, are currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail.

Both Martinez-Garcia and Varillas-Santiago were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after being contacted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to Harold Ort, an ICE Public Affairs officer.

Two men who worked for an organization that transported illegal aliens throughout the country are facing federal charges after they were allegedly caught smuggling 10 Guatemalans while traveling on Interstate 70 in Clark County.

Moises Martinez-Garcia and Juan Varillas-Santiago, both of Mexico, are currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail.Both Martinez-Garcia and Varillas-Santiago were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after being contacted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to Harold Ort, an ICE Public Affairs officer.

“They will face federal prosecution on alien smuggling charges,” Ort said. “As with any other law enforcement agency, ICE does not discuss investigative specifics of our procedures, including whether or not an investigation exists or is planned.”

The arrests are mentioned in an affidavit filed in the Southern District of the U.S. District Court. Special Agent Glenn DeMar of ICE, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations, wrote the affidavit, which said the arrests occurred after a May 27 traffic stop on eastbound I-70 in Clark County.

ICE and Homeland Security agents discovered that the two men were allegedly helping to transport the Guatemalan citizens who had allegedly entered the U.S. illegally.

Some of the Guatemalan citizens interviewed allegedly told authorities that they had paid up to $6,000 to have themselves smuggled into the U.S.

Martinez-Garcia allegedly told authorities that he knew the Guatemalans were in the country illegally and that he had been transporting illegal aliens from California to the East Coast. He allegedly offered Varillas-Santiago, who he knew from his neighborhood, $350 to help him transport the Guatemalans.

It was not clear from the affidavit where the group was actually going when the traffic stop occurred last month on the interstate.

All were eventally transported to the Butler County Jail. It was not immediately known how Varillas-Santiago and Martinez-Garcia ended up at the Montgomery County Jail on Tuesday.